


Bring It On (Chicago Edition)

by orphan_account



Series: Movie AUs [1]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Bipolar Disorder, Explicit Language, Homophobic Language, M/M, Musician!Mickey, bring it on au, but its more mentioned than a huge aspect, cheerleading, cheerleading alternate universe, gallaghers actually being supportive siblings, thats pretty much all it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 09:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6001516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newly-elected cheerleading squad captain, Ian Gallagher, discovers that their routines were stolen from another squad and must come up with a new routine in order to win Nationals with help from new, controversial squad member, Mandy Milkovich, while figuring out his crush on her brother, Mickey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The Bring It On au that I desperately needed

Ian Gallagher, for years, has always had dreams of one thing: cheerleading. After he quit ROTC, it was dreams of whether or not he would ever make the squad. As a Sophomore in the squad, it was whether he would be able to stick that round-off back hand spring he had to make at next week’s game. Now, just starting senior year, his dreams revolve around whether or not he will make captain. 

In this dream, the squad runs through one of its usual cheers and during it Big Red, the current cheerleading captain, cheers who won captaincy: “…the ballots are in, and someone had to win. He’s perky, he’s fun, and now he’s number one! I-I-I-Ian! I-I-I-Ian!” 

In the usual dramatic way his dreams went, Ian rose from a flurry of pom poms and lead the squad in the rest of the cheers. When they finished a few seconds later, out of nowhere, everyone in the crowd went silent, before gasping and laughing. Confused and in a panic, Ian searched around for the source of their amusement. Did he fuck up the routine? 

“Nice dick!” someone yelled from the stands and Ian froze, looking down at himself to see that he was totally naked. 

“Fuck!” he yelled as he sat up in his bed, looking down at his bare chest. Ripping off the sheets to see his boxers were still on, he panted. 

A groan came from his brother, Carl’s, bed. Carl poked his head out from under his blankets and whined, “You were cheering in your sleep again, dude.” 

Ian shook off the horrible dream before getting out of bed to shower. He had to be ready for when Aaron picked him up. 

* 

Aaron, Ian’s boyfriend, sped around the corner of the street, beeping as he made his way up to the Gallagher house. From his car, he called out to Fiona and Lip, Ian’s other siblings, who were grabbing the shopping out of their van, “Yo, Fiona, Lip!” 

“Oh, look, it’s Ian’s douchebag boyfriend,” Lip muttered to Fiona, who huffed. 

Turning to the car, she waved and greeted Aaron. “Hi, Aaron.” 

“Need help with the groceries?” 

“No, Aaron, we’re good!” 

Ian quickly rushed past Fiona and Lip, knowing that if he stuck around too long with Aaron they’d start in on him again. “Bye, be back later!” 

When he got in the car, he leant in toward Aaron for a kiss, who shoved him away, hissing, “C’mon, Ian. Not in front of your fucking siblings.” 

Ian frowned before leaning back into his seat as Aaron sped off. Fiona and Lip both jumped at the sound the tires made against the asphalt. 

Watching them speed off, Fiona said, “Remember, he’s leaving for college.” 

Lip snorted, clearly not impressed by Fiona’s reasoning. “Great, I’ll get to see him there.” 

In the car, heading to the school, Ian asked his boyfriend, “So are you excited?” 

“Oh yeah!” Aaron replied, “College, Ian! I’m really stoked! But I’ll miss you…” 

“Really?” Ian smiled warmly, placing a hand on his boyfriend’s thigh. 

“Yeah, but next year, it’ll be you and me, reunited, at U of C! I’ll be the experienced Sophomore, you’ll be the hot, new freshman. Just like high school, only better. Dorm rooms.” 

Ian rolled his eyes. “Even though we can just do it at my place?” 

“You know I hate it there, though, babe.” 

Ian bit his lip, sinking down into his seat a little as they pulled up to the school. Aaron wasn’t a big fan of his family. It wasn’t usually much of an issue, especially since Ian’d been having issues with his family himself, but it still bothered him a little. As they got out of the car, they were greeted by numerous students walking past. Since the football team was so shitty, the cheerleaders got most of the popularity. 

“Now, remember, when you get captain, act surprised!” Aaron reminded Ian, grinning and putting his hands on his shoulders. 

Ian rolled his eyes, grabbing his boyfriend’s arms and shaking him. “Don’t jinx me!” 

“Hey, Ian,” Karen, a fellow cheerleader and friend, greeted from behind Aaron. “Hey, Aaron!” 

“Ladies,” Aaron greeted cheerfully as he turned around to face Karen and Amanda, another cheerleader. 

“Good luck at school,” Karen said seductively. Even though Aaron was gay, Karen would always flirt with him anyway. 

“Oh, Aaron,” Amanda said, “Come to one last practice? You know you’re still our favourite cheerleader.” 

“Aww, thanks! But I gotta run.” 

“Wait.” Ian frowned, pulling his boyfriend around to face him. “You’re not staying for the vote?!” 

Aaron frowned back at him. “Yeah, I’ve got to beat traffic; I can’t miss orientation.” 

“But I need you there, and Lip’s leaving in—” 

“Hey,” Aaron interrupted, kissing Ian to shut him up. “Hey. Trust me, you’ll get it. They’re not going to miss their chance at the first school in the area to have a male cheerleading captain.” 

Ian nodded, forcing a smile on his face. Aaron bid him adieu before getting in his car and speeding away. 

* 

Big Red paced in front of the team, giving them some big spiel about how they knew they’d win the championships this year before announcing, “So, let’s meet your new leader…Ian Gallagher.” 

Ian couldn’t help but yell out in excitement before standing up and getting a hug from his friends Roger and Derek. 

“Slut,” Karen whispered to Amanda from the ground, who giggled. 

Ian announced that he wanted to start practice with a particularly hard routine. There were some complaints and flat-out refusals that were ignored. As it turns out, those reservations were founded when Este, one of their best cheerleaders, collapsed into the ground, messing up her back and leg. The Brazilian curses could be heard throughout the school as she cried out in pain. 

* 

“I got captain,” Ian announced to the only people home: a busy Fiona and a video game-bound Carl. 

Their mother had run away when they were young, but kept coming back to spit out babies and their father was off getting pissed somewhere no doubt. The only thing their piece of shit father could be thanked for was making enough money to keep them in school and on the North Side. He couldn’t be thanked for their parenting, though; that was all Fiona. 

“And you sent a girl to the hospital on the first day,” Carl joked, “Aye, aye, Captain.” 

Ian sighed, flopping onto the couch. “Shut the fuck up, Carl; I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“Why not? It’s awesome! Did her bone stick out of her leg?” 

Fiona smacked Carl across the head. “Carl, go away.” 

Carl huffed before making his way upstairs. Ian turned back to Fiona to see her flipping through his schedule. 

“You’d better be keeping up with your school work too, Ian. This can’t be another ROTC where that’s all you focus on.” 

Ian clenched his jaw. “Well it isn’t another ROTC, is it? This still might actually lead me somewhere now.” 

“Cheerleading alone won’t get you into college.” 

“Why can’t you just accept that I’m not a genius like Lip?” 

“Because you have the potential, Ian! You’re just as smart as Lip; he can just be lazy about it. And not even Lip can be lazy in college.” 

“Look, will advanced English get you off my back?” 

“Not completely, but I’ll be a little less worried.” 

“Done.” Ian huffed, getting off the couch. “You know, I’ve been doing better Fi. I’m taking my meds, I’m following my routine, I’m passing my classes. A little faith would go a long way.” 

“I have faith, Ian. I’m just continuing to remind you of your priorities. And cheerleading and boys aren’t the major ones.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for homophobic slur in this chapter

Ian was sitting in math, his least favourite subject, when a new boy made his way into the classroom. Everyone fell silent at his dirty shoes, ripped sleeves, and scowl. Ian’s mouth went dry as soon as he caught a look at his face. He had this rough look that somehow suited his gorgeous face. The dirt on his face made his bright blue eyes stand out, and his slicked-back black hair just looked purposely disheveled. Ian waited impatiently to find out his name as he handed the teacher a slip of paper.  
  
“Everyone, we have a new student transferring. Please welcome: Mik-Mikha-Mikhail-M—”  
  
“ _Mickey’s_ fine,” the new kid interrupted, scowl unchanging.  
  
“Ah, well, Mickey Milkovich.” The teacher then pointed out the empty seat to the side of Ian.  
  
Without glancing once in Ian’s direction, Mickey trudged over to his seat, removing his earphones from around his neck. Ian could see that on his knuckles he had tattoos, but he couldn’t make out the letters.  
  
One of the idiot footballers coughed as Mickey sat down. “ _Fag_.”  
  
Ian wondered faintly if this footballer had a death wish because this kid did not look like someone to screw with. However, Mickey just clenched his jaw and turned to him.  
  
“Was that a fuckin’ gay joke?”  
  
“Yeah, you’ve got a problem with that?” the footballer hissed, puffing himself up to try and be intimidating.  
  
“No, no problem at all. I’m just sayin’, you’ve got to do fuckin’ better than that if you’re trying to intimidate me. On the Southside if you wanna scare the fuck outta somebody, you’ve gotta have a gun on you or somethin’. Pray they haven’t brought a homemade bomb or some shit better. Homophobic trash talk ain’t nothin’ to me.”  
  
The footballers only turned away, seemingly unnerved. Mickey smirked, turning back to the front and getting out his notebook.  
  
“I don’t think they got the memo on the Southside,” Ian commented, grinning a little.  
  
Mickey turned to him in surprise before returning his smile a little. “Nah, guess not. ‘m Mickey. Milkovich.”  
  
“Ian Gallagher.”  
  
Mickey caught glance of Ian’s advanced English book. “Fuck. Advanced English. That shit’s hard.”  
  
Ian smirked a little. “Are you intimidated now?”  
  
A grin stretched across Mickey’s face and he chuckled, rubbing his thumb along the bridge of his nose, which looked adorable. “Sure.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Nah, not really. Like I said: Southside.”  
  
Ian laughed, gesturing to Mickey’s shirt. “So, is that your band or something?” Anything to excuse the fact that Ian’s kept glancing down at Mickey’s clearly defined chest every two seconds.  
  
Mickey looked down at his shirt. “The Clash? Nah, man, British punk band, circa 1977 to 1983…”  
  
Ian nodded slowly, trying not to think about how oddly hot it was that Mickey could seemingly burst out with band trivia. The bell rang and he quickly began to pack up, as did Mickey. He was going to say something, but decided against it as Mickey didn’t seem to be the ‘see you around’ type.  
  
Just as he was making his way off, Mickey called out, “So…I’ll see you around, then?”  
  
Or maybe Ian was wrong. “Looks like it.”  
  
*  
  
Holding these cheerleading tryouts to replace Este was going to be a nightmare, Ian decided as he took his seat at the judging table. He swore to God he was cursed.  
  
“Tell me we’re not actually continuing this masquerade in having tryouts! Cut the crap and pick somebody now!” Karen exclaimed from the other side of Ian. “Amanda’s cousin, Bonnie, is really teeny. She’ll be easy to toss and she doesn’t give lip.”  
  
“Unlike her cousin,” Derek joked, “Oh, wait, but she doesn’t give Lip. She just fucks him.”  
  
“Kiss my ass, Derek,” Amanda snapped, throwing a paper ball at his head.  
  
“I believe Karen’s got that covered,” Derek snickered.  
  
“Look, everyone shut the fuck up!” Ian snapped. “If Bonnie’s the best, then she’s got it, but we have to see everyone.”  
  
However, as they went through the tryouts, it became more and more clear that barely anyone in the school was suitable. When Bonnie came out and did her bit, she wasn’t bad, but she wasn’t doing any of the important flips or moves needed in a cheerleader, and she was just too young. Ian was frustrated and almost giving up hope when the last participant entered the gymnasium.  
  
She was dressed in a black crop top and black jeans, her black hair framed her face, and her nose piercing stood out from the other students. What was most familiar to Ian was her eyeliner-framed blue eyes and…knuckle tattoos.  
  
“Excuse me, don’t you have to go and stir your cauldron?” Amanda laughed into Karen’s ear, referring to the girl’s gothic look.  
  
“Sorry!” Karen called out once the girl got close enough. “Tattoos are strictly forbidden.” She smiled sweetly and smugly.  
  
The girl smiled tightly, bringing up her middle finger to her tongue and licking it, rubbing at the ‘tattoos’ on her knuckles on her other hand until they smudged. “I got bored during fourth period.”  
  
As Karen’s smile faded, Amanda told the girl, “You need to fill a form out.”  
  
“Did it,” the girl answered quickly, holding it up and handing it to one of the other girls.  
  
“ _Mandy_ , is it?” The cheerleader smirked. “Look, before we start, we’re going to need to make sure you can do a standing back tuck.” She shrugged. “Standard procedure, you understand.”  
  
“Standing spring back tuck okay?” Mandy asked, shrugging off her backpack and chucking it to the floor before pulling off the move flawlessly.  
  
Karen held up her hands in protest. “Can she yell?”  
  
“We’ll try an oldie.” Ian smiled before cheering, “Awesome—Oh, wow—Like totally freak me out—I mean—right on—The Toros sure are number one!”  
  
Mandy looked like she was holding back laughter before she begins her turn, “I transferred from the Southside—your school has no gymnastics team—this is a last resort!”  
  
The only cheerleaders who had previously been smiling encouragingly at Mandy slowly lost their enthusiasm, which Mandy seemed to sense but not care about. “Okay, so I haven’t fuckin’ cheered before, so what? How about something that actually requires brains?”  
  
“Do it,” Karen whispered to Amanda who requested, “Front hand spring, step out, round-off back hand spring, step out, round-off back hand spring, full-twisting layout.”  
  
Mandy laughed before turning around to the back of the room and once again pulling off the moves flawlessly, smirking once she’s done.  
  
Ian laughed. “Mandy’s got it!”  
  
“No way! We’ve already so decided on Bonnie,” Karen argued.  
  
“Karen, am I or am I not captain? I’m overruling you.” Ian smiled happily at Karen before turning back to Mandy.  
  
“Oh, shut the fuck up, Ian, you shouldn’t even have this captaincy!” Karen snapped, standing up. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: _guys shouldn’t be captain_. Now we’ve already voted. Besides, Mandy looks like she should be on a pole, not on a pyramid.”  
  
Mandy stormed out, making Ian clench his jaw and turn to Karen. “Look, Karen, like it or not, I’m captain. You can fall in line or not; I don’t give a fuck. But right now we need the best and Mandy’s the best. So shut up and deal.”  
  
*  
  
From Mandy’s form, Ian could go to her house and let her know that they did in fact want her to be on the team. She seemed to live on the edge of the Southside, so it wasn’t too bad for Ian to wander over to. Plus, he had family and friends in the Southside, and he had lived there as a kid, so he was kind of used to it.  
  
Ian knocked and waited for a moment. When no one answered, he knocked again louder. He was about to knock a third time when the door swung open to a grunt of, “What the fuck?”  
  
“Oh…hey!” Ian greeted in surprise to who answered the door: Mickey.  
  
“Oh. You.” Mickey spoke from around a cigarette.  
  
“Hi…” Suddenly it all clicked for Ian and he felt so stupid he didn’t see it before. After all, on the form Mandy’s last name was _Milkovich_. “I’m—”  
  
“A fuckin’ cheerleader, apparently.” Mickey grinned, removing the cigarette from between his lips. Ian tried not to stare.  
  
“Yeah…yeah… _head_ cheerleader, actually…” Ian felt a little embarrassed now, looking down at his uniform.  
  
Mickey’s lips curled up at the side. “I bet.”  
  
Ian eyed Mickey in confusion for a moment, wondering whether Mickey was trying to make an innuendo, before shaking his head and asking, “Is Mandy home?”  
  
“Nah, nah, she’s off shooting up the rest of your cheerleading squad, actually. Something about you all being major douchebags.”  
  
“Look, we have to get her, okay?”  
  
“You got a fuckin’ crush on my sister, Gallagher? Hope her skanky tendencies and drug dependencies aren’t going to be a deal breaker.”  
  
“Mick. Shut the fuck up,” Mandy said, appearing from beside Mickey and scowling at Ian. “What do you want?”  
  
“You on the squad.” When Mandy scoffed, Ian continued, “You’re the best; they know it! They’re just scared shitless of you.”  
  
“No fucking thank you. I was fuckin’ insane for trying out in the first place. I happen to be a hardcore gymnast, and your little dance routines and ‘ _go, team, go_!’ aren’t going to satisfy me.” Mandy crossed her arms and Ian made an effort not to take any of this personally.  
  
“We’re gymnasts too only without all the equipment and shit.”  
  
“Sorry.” Mandy went to shut the door, but Mickey stopped her. “Mickey, what the fuck?”  
  
Mickey seemed to be also surprised at his own actions, but managed to spit out, “I just fuckin’ think that you should give Gallagher a chance.”  
  
“How do you even know him?”  
  
“Old friends. What the fuck do you think, douchebag? Met today in study hall.”  
  
Ian rolled his eyes and returned to Mandy. “Ever been to a cheer competition? Cameras all around, people cheering—”  
  
“I’m sorry, but people fuckin’ _cheer_ the _cheerleaders_?” Mickey interrupted, smirking.  
  
Ian gave him a mocking smile. “That’s right.” He faced Mandy again, trying to ignore how hot Mickey looked smirking like that. “I promise it’s entirely satisfying. I’m offering you a chance to be a part of our team, and we’re the shit.”  
  
Mandy still seemed conflicted, but Mickey burst in with, “C’mon, Mands, it’s only your everyday life. Wearing skanky outfits and yelling while pretending to care about things.” Mickey grins at Ian, throwing a thumb in Mandy’s direction. “She’s not the cheering type, more like the screaming bloody-fuckin’-murder type.”  
  
Mandy shot a glare at Mickey, saying, “You know what? Count me in, Ian.”  
  
Ian grinned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE writing Mandy and Mickey, even if I think they're really hard to try and write! (And, yeah, I'm totally here for Mickey's full name being Mikhailo)


	3. Chapter 3

Mandy sat in the gym, bored and unimpressed, watching from the seats as the cheerleaders bounced around in front of her. Ian’s head filled with worry when Mandy sat up, frowning deeply at them all as they began their well-practised cheer. As soon as the music actually started, Mandy shook her head and scoffed, grabbing her bag and heading out of the gym. Ian frowned, stopping and taking a step towards Mandy in confusion.   
  
Karen scoffed from behind him. “Nice recruit, _Ian_.” Ian’s jaw clenched in annoyance as the doors slammed behind Mandy and Karen continued, “A real captain would’ve seen what I saw — a big, skanky loser!”   
  
“I’d say that’s strike two,” Amanda commented smugly, raising an eyebrow beneath her glasses.   
  
*   
  
Ian stormed up to Mandy in a rush as she got into the old car her and Mickey shared. He grabbed the door before she could shut up and exclaimed, “What the fuck, Mandy? I put my ass on the line for you, and you just bail?!”   
  
“I’m not about stealin’,” she said simply. When Ian gave her a skeptical look, she huffed. “Stealin’ _routines_. You ripped off those cheers!”   
  
“Listen, _Mandy_ , our cheers are 100% original. Count the fuckin’ trophies.”   
  
“Well, the trophies are bullshit, because you’re a fuckin’ liar,” Mandy sneered, lips curling up.   
  
“That’s not true!” Ian almost yelled, affronted by the very idea that he didn’t work as hard as he did to get where he was now.   
  
Mandy got out of the car and stepped into Ian’s personal space, oddly intimidating for someone of her size. Her eyes narrowed at him in disgust. “Oh really? You’re in for a _rude_ awakening, Red. Get in the fuckin’ car.”   
  
*   
  
Soon enough, they were in the Southside at the high school Ian would’ve gone to, had his family stayed there. Ian watched in horror from next to Mandy as their cheerleading team did the _exact same cheer_.   
  
“Holy shit,” he breathed. “They are even better at it.”   
  
“Yeah, well, they invented it, didn’t they?” Mandy snorted and they continued to watch until the end.   
  
Mandy, happy to see that what she had been trying to tell Ian finally landed, agreed that they could turn around and go back. However, just as they were reaching the car, the head cheerleader of the school’s squad shouted, “ _Hey!_ ”   
  
When Ian and Mandy turned around, she said, “You guys enjoy the show?”   
  
“Were the _ethnic festivities_ to your liking?” another cheerleader sneered, eyes narrowing.   
  
“You guys were awesome,” Ian quickly said, guilt, self-pity, and admiration for them coursing through him.   
  
“ _Really_?” the head cheerleader said, “Ready to share those trophies?”   
  
“Isis, can we just beat these assholes down so I can go home?” another cheerleader asked, waving her hand at the head cheerleader, Isis. “I’m on curfew, girl.”   
  
“There’s no need for that,” Mandy said, already counting the ways in her head that she knew she could take on these girls if need be. However, she wasn’t so sure about Ian being able to handle himself.   
  
“You know what? She’s right, because then we’d be doing them a fuckin’ favour,” Isis jeered, “See, because then they can feel good about sending Raggedy Ann up here jackin’ us for our cheers.” She eyed Ian up and down. “Well, Raggedy Ann number one, anyway, it appears. You know her. Ugly redhead with a video camera permanently attached to her hand? Y’all have been coming up here for years try’na steal our routines.”   
  
“And we just _love_ seeing them on ESPN,” another cheerleader commented, glaring at Ian.

“What are you talkin’ ‘bout?” Ian asked, still confused.   
  
Mandy rolled her eyes. Ian could be a dumbass sometimes.   
  
“‘Burr, it’s cold in here, I said there must be some _Toros_ in the atmosphere’? I _know_ you didn’t think a white girl made that shit up.” Isis glowered. “Our cheer service is over as of this moment. ‘Cause every time we get something, here y’all coming trying to steal it, put some blonde hair on it, and callin’ it something different. We’ve had the best squad around for _years_ , but no one’s been able to see what we can do. Oh, but you’d better believe all that’s going to change this year. _I’m_ captain now, and I guarantee we’ll make it to Nationals. So hand over the tape you made for your captain tonight, and we’ll call it even for now.”   
  
“We don’t have any tape,” Ian promised, big green Bambi eyes on show.  
  
“Just came to see the show,” Mandy added, equally as genuine.   
  
“ _What_?” a cheerleader spat, “Come on, Isis, let me do this.”   
  
“You know what?” Isis snapped. “Let’s go.”   
  
“Wait, we’re just going to let them go?” the same cheerleader asked in disbelief and disgust.   
  
“Yeah,” Isis told her, head held high. “Because, unlike them, we have _class_.”   
  
Ian sighed. “I swear, I had no idea.” Shoulders slumped, he added, “I’m captain now, and I’ll never let it happen again.”   
  
“You’d better not.” With another look of contempt, Isis led her squad back inside.   
  
The aforementioned cheerleader scoffed, eyeing Ian. “Lucky son of a bitch.” Walking off, she shook her head and mumbled, “Motherfuckin’ _male_ captain. Ain’t never seen that shit before.”   
  
  
Driving back, Mandy laughed a little. “We almost _so_ got our asses kicked back there! I mean, not me, I can handle my own, but _man_ , you’re fuckin’ lucky.” Glancing at the stricken looking Ian before turning back to the road, she asked, “You really had no idea, did you?”   
  
“Do you know what this means?” Ian murmured. “My entire cheerleading career has been a lie.” Ian had a flair for the dramatic.   
  
“It’s only fuckin’ cheerleading, Ian.”   
  
“Mandy, I _am_ only cheerleading. This is all I have! I’m not smart like my brother; I don’t do ROTC anymore…This is it.” Ian sighed dejectedly, glancing at Mandy who had gone silent before asking hesitantly, “Do you believe in curses?”   
  
“Um…what are you talkin’ about?” Mandy laughed a little nervously.   
  
Ian sighed again, seeming to be deciding whether he could disclose his secret worry to Mandy. “I think I’m cursed.”   
  
“Why’s that?”   
  
“At cheer camp this summer, each cheer had to do a dare. There’s this thing called a spirit stick, and it can never touch the ground. I got dared to drop it in front of _everyone_. So, of course, I did it. Everyone looked so annoyed at me. One person said that the person who dropped it was the one who was cursed, the one who goes to _Hades_.”   
  
By the time he was finished, Mandy was cracking up. “Ian, oh my God, cheerleading urban legend?”   
  
“Hades, Mandy! _Hades_!”   
  
Mandy huffed, rolling her eyes. “You’re not jinxed. Shit happens, _jesus_.”   
  
*   
  
As soon as Ian got home, he grabbed for the phone. Debbie complained loudly, saying that she had to call the boyfriend of the week, whoever the fuck that was. Ian quickly placated her with a, “Only be a few minutes, Debs,” before hurrying upstairs and away from prying siblings.   
  
Dialling Aaron’s number, he was only met with a roommate who told him he was out and he didn’t know when he would be back. Huffing before hanging up the phone, Ian rolled his eyes. _Some boyfriend_.   
  
*   
  
“Big Red totally screwed us!” Ian announced to the squad the next day in annoyance. “I mean, _totally fuckin’_ screwed us!”   
  
“Wait, wait,” Mandy interrupted, “Sorry, I just…the old cheer captain’s nickname is _Big Red_ …that suited her better than anyone?”   
  
Ian frowned. “Well, yeah, she had big, dyed red hair. Why do you ask?”   
  
Mandy eyed Ian up and down for a moment, before scoffing. “No reason. Carry on.”   
  
Shaking his head, Ian continued, “I put this to the _entire_ squad: swear you guys didn’t know?”   
  
Everyone murmured in protest and Roger cried, “I can’t believe she did this!”   
  
“I feel awful. I mean, those Southside girls wanted to kick our asses,” Ian told the squad, frowning to himself.   
  
“Big Red ran the show, man,” a cheerleader commented, “I mean, we were just fuckin’ idiots, for fuck’s sake!”   
  
“We can’t go to Regionals with a stolen routine…” Ian shook his head, pacing back and forth on the grass. “It’s too risky!”   
  
“Changing the routine _now_?” Amanda interrupted, sitting on the grass next to Karen. “Total murder-suicide.”   
  
“Seriously,” Karen agreed. “Let’s not majorly fuck this up, _Ian_. How are they even going to prove it, anyway? No one’s going to believe some Southside trash over us.”   
  
“You people are un-fuckin-believeable!” Mandy exploded.   
  
“Sorry, Skankovich, but nobody asked for your fuckin’ opinion,” Karen sneered and Mandy’s eyes flashed with rage. “Look, I hate to be predictable, but _I don’t give a shit_. We learned that routine, fair and fuckin’ square. We clocked the work hours; don’t punish the squad for Big Red’s mistake! This isn’t about cheating; it’s about _winning_. Everyone in favour of winning?” Karen raised her hand, waiting for others to follow her lead.   
  
Almost everyone had raised their hands when Karen smugly turned to Ian, who deflated considerably as he turned to Mandy. She was looking at him like he’d betrayed her.   
  
“I’m sorry, Mands, but there’s no time. If we don’t do this, we have nothing else.”   
  
“You in?” Derek asked.   
  
Mandy gave them all a glare before saying, “Fuck you all. Whatever.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I've actually written the rest of it and now I'm just slowly editing through it so these should be pretty quick updates! (I regret not uploading it all at once but oops too late now)


	4. Chapter 4

Ian, Derek, and Roger all laughed and chatted as they pulled up outside of Mandy’s house. Roger beeped and they sat for a few moments before he sighed. “Where is she?”   
  
A few seconds later, Mandy hesitantly opened the door. They all cried out at her in her uniform, black hair pulled up into a ponytail. She’d removed most of her eye make up per some of the nicer girls’ tips (apparently sweating off your eyeliner in the middle of a routine was a bitch under those harsh lights). She looked beautiful and Ian grinned, wolf-whistling.   
  
Mandy blushed and laughed a little before waving them off and getting in the back with Derek. “Just drive, douchebags.”   
  
A few minutes into the drive, Ian turned to Mandy and asked, “It’s still fine that I’m staying over your house tonight, right?”   
  
“Yeah, totally fine. Dad and all that’s…out, so it’s just Mick and me — and now you, I guess.”   
  
“You know cheering for our shitty football team is just mean,” Roger commented, laughing.   
  
“Everyone comes to see the girls, anyway,” Derek sighed.   
  
“Because they’re totally not coming to just check out our tits.” Mandy rolled her eyes.   
  
“Live with it. You’re getting hit on; we’re defending our sexuality!” Derek argued.   
  
“What is your sexuality?” Mandy asked out of curiosity.   
  
Derek noticed she eyed the back of Ian’s head a bit longer than necessary. “Well, I’m straight. Roger’s… _controversial_.”   
  
“What the fuck does that mean?” Mandy laughed.   
  
“He’s bi,” Ian told her. “And I’m gay.”   
  
“Oh.” Mandy looked a little disappointed for a moment before her eyes lit up. “Hey, we got the holy trinity in here!”   
  
They all laughed and continued on to the game.   
  
*   
  
As the clumsy football team stumbled onto the field, the people in the bleachers clapped half-heartedly. However, when Ian’s squad were announced, there was a standing ovation. Ian glanced at Mandy and it seemed she understood what they meant about nobody giving a shit about the football team.   
  
Mandy stood awkwardly, trying to cheer as much as she could. Mickey looked on from the stands, laughing his ass off at Mandy’s uncomfortable cheering before shaking his head and sitting down to focus on his book.   
  
Within a minute of the game being set up, the football teams had gotten in a massive fight, pissing contest coming to an end. Quickly enough, though, another one started as the opposite squad started up a quick, impromptu cheer-off. Ian frowned, leading his squad over to theirs and starting a return cheer. Clearly having crushed the other squad, they turned back to where the game was starting.   
  
They tried their best to bring up morale and encouragement, but it was difficult when their football team was so shit.   
  
Mickey laughed again as he glanced up from his book to see one of the assholes who talked back to him on the first day be tackled. “Nice.”   
  
At half-time, they started a new cheer. Ian found himself smiling as Mickey looked from his book in confusion to everyone around him jumping up and down along to the cheer. Mickey’s blue eyes locked with Ian’s green ones and Ian grinned as Mickey slowly shut his book, his own smile growing. Karen glanced over from where she was standing and grimaced at the puppy look on Ian’s dumb freckled face. Her and Amanda shared a disgusted look before focusing back on the cheer.   
  
When they finished the cheer, Amanda leant over to Ian and scoffed, “You’re, like, totally his eye-candy.”   
  
“I can’t believe you’d do that to Aaron,” Karen said accusingly, eyeing Ian in annoyance.   
  
Ian frowned, feeling more annoyed by the second. “Do what?!”   
  
“Especially with him.” Amanda glared up at the bleachers where Mickey was sitting, still looking at Ian.   
  
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Ian snapped.   
  
“Don’t play dumb,” Amanda sneered back.   
  
“You’re having _cheer_ sex with him,” Karen said mockingly, rolling her eyes before flipping her hair and walking away, Amanda following her.   
  
Ian rolled his eyes, walking away. As they started up their next cheer, Ian frowned at the girls from the Southside school coming down the stands and shared a worried look with Mandy. It was even worse when those girls started following everything they did. Ian shook his head as they came to a stop, feeling regret over keeping the routine. The Clover girls nodded to themselves before making their way out.   
  
Karen spoke up, “I still say we use the routine we have! If we have to start over, I quit.”   
  
Ian glared at her before shouting out, “Whoever here is for a new routine, raise your fuckin’ hand!”   
  
By then, everyone in the squad and the bleachers raised their hands. The squad looked around and Karen huffed, crossing her arms. Looks like they were going to have a new routine.   
  
*   
  
Back at the Milkovich house, Mandy and Ian got ready in her room. Mandy came back into the bathroom, which was attached to Mickey’s room and you had to go through his room to get there.   
  
“So is every game _that_ eventful?” Mandy laughed, sitting down on her bed and smoking a spliff.   
  
“No, thank God,” Ian sighed and took a hit before passing it back. “We have a real situation on our hands. I mean, we were humiliated on our own turf.”   
  
“You should ask my dad for advice.” Mandy smiled tightly. “No one humiliates a Milkovich in their own neighbourhood.”   
  
“This is a serious problem!” Ian cried. “It may not seem like it, but it is!”   
  
Mandy’s face scrunched up at Ian’s breath on her face. “Fuck, man, brush your teeth.”   
  
“Oh,” Ian laughed and was about to head to the bathroom when Mandy passed him the spliff.   
  
“Finish that off, then brush your teeth,” she said.   
  
Grinning, he finished it before putting it out and heading down the hall to Mickey’s room. He paused just outside the door, eyeing the ‘Stay the Fuck Out’ sign and then frowning at the sound of a guitar being played. He hesitantly pushed the door open to find Mickey jamming out on his guitar. He was only in fitted boxers and he wasn’t facing Ian. For a moment, Ian didn’t say anything and just admired Mickey’s ass jumping as he bounced on the pads of his feet. He also laughed a little as Mickey passionately rocked out, putting on quite the show. When Mickey spun around and noticed Ian looking at him, he grinned and continued to just play. Ian stumbled past him, trying to avoid the blush forming on his cheeks as he went into the bathroom.   
  
He quickly took his meds before starting to brush his teeth. Standing at the sink and brushing his teeth, he couldn’t help but hear when Mickey stopped playing, putting his guitar down and padding into the bathroom to join Ian at the sink. Ian jumped out the way as Mickey grabbed his toothbrush and paste, and began to brush his teeth. For some reason, it quickly became a small pissing contest of teeth brushing. Ian wasn’t sure about the outcome or reasoning behind it, but continued to send Mickey equally competitive looks. However, Mickey, seeming to be feeling as though he needed to up his game, slowed down and started to slowly brush deeper and deeper into his mouth. Ian, totally shocked, confused, and oddly turned on, just stopped and watched. Mickey seemed to chuckle a bit at this and finished brushing his teeth, sending Ian a grin before returning to his room. Ian blushed, finishing off brushing his teeth and avoiding looking at Mickey as he left.   
  
He joined Mandy in her bed, curling up next to her. It was silent for a moment before Mandy seemed to take a deep breath and ask, “Are you into my brother?”   
  
Ian scoffed before saying, “No! I have a boyfriend.”   
  
Mandy shrugged, turning over.   
  
“Plus, Mickey’s not gay, right?” Ian added, trying to see Mandy’s expression in the dark.   
  
She didn’t reply, only breathed evenly, so Ian assumed she had fallen asleep. Sighing, he turned back to the ceiling and tried to convince himself that he wasn’t upset that Mickey was probably straight.   
  
*   
  
The next morning, Ian rang his boyfriend in need of some guidance and support. After the fifth time of trying to ring, he finally picked up.   
  
“Hello?” Aaron answered, sounding as if he had just woken up.   
  
“Aaron?”   
  
“Ian, is that you?”   
  
“Where have you been?” Ian snapped, pacing back and forth in Mandy’s room. “I’ve been trying to call you.   
  
“Yeah, I know, I’ve been, like, totally busy with school. What’s up?” he yawned.   
  
Ian fought the urge to roll his eyes and replied, “Ugh, it’s bad, Aaron. Miss Red snaked our routines from the Canaryville Clovers — all of our routines.”   
  
“ _What_?”   
  
“And they found out about it, they showed up at the game, gauntlets were thrown…” Ian sighed. “Tell me you didn’t know about this. I mean, I don’t know what to fuckin’ _do_ , here.”   
  
“Of course I didn’t _know_!” Aaron snapped defensively. “But you’ve gotta calm down; this is not that big of a deal. Everybody uses everybody else’s material; it’s like the unwritten rule or something.”   
  
Mandy checked her phone, groaning when she saw how early it was and why the fuck was Bigger Red whining on the phone to his boyfriend at this ungodly hour?   
  
“That doesn’t help me! We can’t use their routine at regionals, because they’re going to use _their_ routine at regionals.”   
  
“Come on, Ian, you need a new routine. That’s all, no problem! Just hire a professional choreographer.”   
  
“A professional choreographer?”   
  
“Look, just think of it as collaboration. The UCA totally looks the other way. Call this chick. Did nationals last year — knows her shit, alright?” Aaron then read out the number as Ian quickly jotted it down.   
  
“Thanks, Aaron. You always know what to do.” Ian sighed in relief.   
  
Aaron hummed in agreement. “Bye, baby.”   
  
Ian hung up the phone, completely unaware of the fact that the entire time he was on the phone with him, his boyfriend was in bed with someone else. He quickly filled Mandy in on Aaron’s idea before calling the choreographer Aaron recommended. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Terry's not going to be in this mainly because I hate him and I can't be bothered with him...I realised once I finished writing this that the whole 'figuring out Mickey's gay' thing isn't really going to be a big part of it...it's kinda just one minute like 'oh ok he must be'. Also I can't really explain why Mickey's more comfortable flirting and stuff! This fic is kind of a mess regarding that stuff, but i had to do it this way to match BIO! (Also Mickey/Ian and Torrance/Cliff weren't really the bigger part of the story anyway, it's more about Ian/cheerleading or even Ian/Mandy because i miss them so)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little more Ian/Mickey flirting in this one (which im kinda eh about how i wrote it but still!)

“She’ll need three or four days to teach us the routine,” Ian informed the richest cheerleader in their squad — Angela.   
  
“But here’s the thing,” Jasmine added. “It’s going to cost us two thousand dollars…”   
  
Ian didn’t really hang around either of the girls much, but they had come over to his house once for a party and hung around Fiona a lot, which everyone thought was a little weird…especially when all three of them disappeared for an hour or two. Ian didn’t know what went on up there, but when he discovered their cherry pie and whipped cream missing, he decided he could die not knowing.   
  
“What, do I have the letters ATM tattooed on my forehead?” Angela laughed bitterly.   
  
“We were thinking more DADDY,” Ian admitted.   
  
Angela rolled her eyes and sighed. “Maybe I can get five hundred.”   
  
“Okay, then we only need fifteen hundred more by Monday!” Ian said determinedly.   
  
*   
  
Of course, being cheerleaders with excellent bodies, the best idea to raise money was with a car wash. A lot of girls were purposely spilling water all over their thin bikinis and rubbing their boobs up against the windshields. At one point, Karen even climbed on top of a car and did some kind of exotic dancer routine. Jasmine and Angela were both kind of entranced by that one. Ian couldn’t help but grin as he was surrounded by girls handing him their money to see him wash their car — and a few guys, too. And it turned out to be heaps of fun anyway.   
  
Ian didn’t even notice as Mickey made his way over from his old car he purposely covered in mud, eyeing up a shirtless Ian as he smirked. Before he could reach him, Mandy stepped in front of him, her tits blocking his view. He cringed and moved his eyes up to her smirking face.   
  
“Hey, Perve,” Mandy teased. “Hand over your fifteen bucks or get the fuck outta here.”   
  
“What are you _doing_ , fuckhead?” Mickey laughed.   
  
“Making money from guys staring at my junk.”   
  
“So, the usual?”   
  
Mandy punched him hard in the arm before he could react.   
  
“ _Ow, fuck_!”   
  
“Yo, Ian!” Mandy called out, turning around to see her best friend bent over a car and sticking his ass out for everyone in the general area to eye. To be honest, she couldn’t blame them. Boy was hot.   
  
Ian looked up from the car and grinned when he spotted Mickey standing there, now looking a little awkward. When he reached them, Mandy said, “My brother wants to check out your ass.”   
  
Ian only raised an eyebrow in amusement at Mickey as Mandy ran off.   
  
“You know, I should’ve smothered her in her fuckin’ sleep while I had the chance…”   
  
Ian laughed a little. “So…nice car. A little covered in shit.”   
  
“Well, I thought I’d help out. You know, have a little civic pride and all that shit.”   
  
“Shouldn’t take long to wash.”   
  
“Don’t worry about it…” Mickey eyed Ian up and down, causing him to smirk. “I’ve got all afternoon.”   
  
Ian snorted. “I’ll bet you do.”   
  
Rolling his eyes at the grin on Mickey’s face and ignoring the resulting fluttering in his stomach because of that, Ian walked over to start cleaning his car…and maybe, yes, he bent over a little more than needed. But that was no one else’s fucking business.   
  
*   
  
“Where the hell is this chick?!” Karen snapped, all up in Ian’s face with Amanda flanking her.   
  
“We’re lucky she’s even doing this for us!” Ian hissed back at her, done with her shit.   
  
Suddenly, the doors slammed open to reveal a woman with a hard face and athletic body. She stomped in, commanding everyone’s attention with the authoritative vibe rolling off of her. Without a word, she placed a jukebox on the floor and pressed play before beginning a slightly weird routine. Seemingly halfway through, she stopped the music and takes a step towards them, waving them to line up.   
  
Ian smiled brightly, trying to bring down the tension. “Thanks for coming—”   
  
“Don’t speak.” Her Russian accent was more than intimidating as she shot a hand up in front of his face, making him frown.   
  
She made her way over to the other end of the line and addressed Jasmine without barely a glance. “You, you have weak ankles.” Moving on to each cheerleader, she handed out criticisms, “One calf bigger than other, too much makeup, not enough makeup, shitty skin, male cheerleaders…enough said.” When she reached Mandy, she demanded, “Smile.” As soon as Mandy mockingly complied, she cringed. “Don’t smile.”   
  
Mandy’s hand itched to deck the bitch.   
  
Finally, she reached Ian, eyeing him up and down. “And you, Orange Boy, are captain, yes? You’ll need more work than anyone, especially with your ugly fucking skin stick getting in the way of your routines.”   
  
Ian frowned as she spun around to return to stand in front of them.   
  
“I am Svetlana. No last name needed,” she announced, “Your choreographer. That is what I do. You are cheerleaders…dancers who are stupid fucking idiots. What you do is a tiny pathetic part of dancing. I will attempt to make you actually good at this, so you have a chance at winning…without—” Svetlana coughed out a laugh “—stealing other squads’ routines. Do what I say or fuck it all up. My teachings are necessary evil…like waxing pussy.”   
  
Everyone shot Ian an annoyed look, which he quickly avoided. Svetlana continued the lesson, making everyone more and more frustrated as time went on.   
  
At one point, Ian was holding Karen high in the air when Svetlana demanded spirit fingers from him. Unable to control the urge, he flipped her off and almost dropped Karen. When Karen regained her balance, she punched Ian in the shoulder.   
  
“ _You motherfucker_!”   
  
“Sorry!” Ian quickly apologised, not wanting it to get out of hand.   
  
Svetlana stormed up, holding out a hammer that she had retrieved from her bag and held it up to Ian’s neck, pushing up his chin. “I cannot deal with this. You are the captain! You let her get away with this shit again, I _smash_ your orange head. Who wears testicles in squad, you or this little bitch?” When Ian didn’t answer, she burst out in a flurry of angry-sounding Russian.   
  
“Me! Me,” Ian quickly answered to avoid her wrath.   
  
She nodded in approval before pulling away the hammer and requesting they continue.   
  
*   
  
Once again, Mandy and Mickey had the house to themselves so Mandy suggested they practise in their backyard. Even if it was full of trash, at least they could be alone.   
  
Mandy huffed as she gave up on the routine. “Fuck this shit! Fuck that dead-eyed Russian bitch; I didn’t sign on for this.” She stormed off into the house.   
  
“Mands, c’mon! The routine’s…great!” He sighed when she slammed the door behind her. “We’re so fucked.” He slowly walked over to the porch steps and sat down, putting his head in his hands.   
  
“Yo,” Mickey greeted from behind him, leaning against the porch with a cigarette between his lips. “Fuck’s the matter with you?”   
  
Ian sighed. “You don’t wanna know.”   
  
“Probably not,” Mickey admitted before sitting down next to him. “But, c’mon, Gallagher, you _know_ you wanna have a bitch about whatever’s got you all puppy-eyed.”   
  
Unable to help himself, Ian agreed. “I’m just so sick of all this crap.”   
  
“If it’s crap, why do you do it?”   
  
Ian quickly stole the cigarette from Mickey’s hand to have a drag, causing the thug to wave his hand at him to get it back. “I don’t know…I used to do ROTC, but then I was…then I couldn’t do that anymore. I just thought I needed something, but this is stressing me out.”   
  
“Why don’t you quit, then?”   
  
Ian laughed dryly. “Maybe…”   
  
“But, then again, you don’t really strike me as the quitting type, Firecrotch.”   
  
Ian arched an eyebrow. “Firecrotch?”   
  
Mickey’s return grin was cheeky and charming as all fuck, leaving Ian with the strong urge to push him down against the stairs and have his way with him.   
  
Instead, he admitted kind of sheepishly, “But what if I can’t do it?”   
  
Mickey looked up at him, blue eyes startling as he shrugged and said, “You can, Ian.”   
  
“You think so?” Ian breathed, feeling a little bit of tension rise as he leant in a little.   
  
Mickey could only nod, eyes flickering down to Ian’s lips.   
  
Mandy strode out the back door, breaking the moment as she announced, “Alright, ready to fucking do this shit.”   
  
Mickey and Ian exchanged a glance, and Mickey gave him a nod before getting up and going into the house. Ian looked up at Mandy who was giving him a questioning look and shrugged, heading off the stairs to go and practise their routine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVED involving Svetlana, Angela, and Jasmine in it, even if it was a small part! (It was really fun mixing Shameless and BIO in what Svet says :) I hope you enjoyed it too!) I'm super sorry for involving Ned, but I wanted Ian to stand up for himself in some way and prove even further that he wants to be fair about this so...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because of the shitty ep that happened tonight (well I haven't actually seen it but what ive heard...YIKES) I figured I'd post the rest of this fic tonight mainly because it's not super sad. ALSO I said last chapter sorry for involving ned, but its this chapter he's in actually! still very sorry!!

Mandy was dumbfounded as they entered the stadium that Regionals were hosted in. All of the different cheerleading squads made her a little more worried, but she swallowed it down and followed Ian to where they needed to be. They all watched anxiously as the Clovers pulled off their routine flawlessly.   
  
“Oh my God!” Jasmine screeched, causing them all to look at her in shock, before she pointed out to the stands. “Is that Fiona?”   
  
While the rest of the team rolled their eyes and turned back to watch the Clovers, Angela went on her tip-toes and exclaimed, “It is! Aww, she came to see us.” She elbowed Jasmine with a smirk.   
  
Ian frowned. “Actually, she came to see me…?”   
  
He turned to the stands to see Fiona waving to him. He waved back and frowned when she blew him a kiss. He re-checked her eye-line only to realise that she was looking at Jasmine and Angela. Shaking off his disturbance at the random three-way relationship they all seemed to be having, he looked back at the Clovers and groaned at how good they were.   
  
He was so nervous, all he could do during the interview was spouting out the most positive bullshit he could, but froze when they heard their music from the start of their routine beginning. The whole squad quickly ran off to see another squad doing their exact some routine.   
  
“Are you _fucking_ kidding me?!” Mandy growled.   
  
Ian shot a panicked look at the stands, hoping to see Fiona to calm him, but he only saw Aaron…and Mickey sitting right behind him. Awkwardly, he returned the wave they both sent him. When Aaron blew him a kiss, he automatically returned it, eyes widening at the surprised look on Mickey’s face. He couldn’t help but fuck everything up, could he?   
  
Desperate to get away from yet _another_ disaster, he pulled Mandy away to where other squads were wandering about.   
  
“It’s the fucking curse, Mands, I’m telling you!” Ian panicked.   
  
“Fuck off with that, would you?” Mandy snapped anxiously. “There’s _no fucking curse_. You’re not going to Hades.”   
  
“Look around, Mandy, _we’re already in fuckin’ Hades_.”   
  
Before they could discuss it anymore, their squad was called up to wait to be next. They all stepped out onto the stage with the sinking realisation that all they could do was do the only routine they had. They were going to be fucking humiliated, and Ian felt it was all his fault.   
  
None of the judges looked particularly impressed, and neither did Big Red who stood watching by the stands. As Ian made his way off the stage with the rest of his squad, all hanging their heads in embarrassment, Isis, from the Clovers, stopped him.   
  
“That was _interesting_ ,” she sneered. “Y’all should’ve just stuck with our routines. But, don’t worry, we’ll send you a postcard from Nationals.”   
  
Ian quickly strode off, wanting to get away from that place as soon as possible. He was quickly stopped by a man calling out, “Ian Gallagher?”   
  
“Yes?” Ian breathed, stopping by the man who called him.   
  
“Ned Lishman, Universal Cheer Association. We seem to have a problem, don’t we?” he said with a slight teasing tone.   
  
A few feet away, Mickey walked up to Mandy who was watching Ian get a good talking to from the UCA guy.   
  
“Yo,” he greeted, nudging her shoulder with his own.   
  
“ _Hey_ ,” Mandy sneered at his amused look.   
  
Mickey spotted Ian getting talked to by some geriatric viagroid and made a move to go over, but Mandy grabbed his sleeveless arm and pulled him back.   
  
“I wouldn’t right now, Mick.”   
  
“What, why?”   
  
“Official cheer business, or whatever.”   
  
“Not to me.” Mickey scoffed, before calling out, “Yo, Gallagher!”   
  
Ian shot a look at him that said ‘not right now’ before turning back to Ned.   
  
Mandy snorted at Mickey’s disgruntled look. “Smooth, Mick.”   
  
“Whatever, see ya.” Mickey trudged off in another direction, flipping her off over his shoulder, which she returned even though he couldn’t see.   
  
Ned stared slightly down at Ian as he spoke, “Obviously, your Toros aren’t the only squad with this particular routine. Does the name Svetlana mean anything to you?”   
  
“ _Svetlana_ ,” Ian repeated in a growl.   
  
“Apparently she’s been peddling the same routine up and down Chicago. Six squads, total. We’re holding an emergency session of the discretionary panel.”   
  
“About what?” Ian gasped.   
  
“We’ve never had a situation like this before…We really should disqualify you—”   
  
“No, no, please don’t punish the squad for my mistake!”   
  
Ned smirked, touching Ian on the shoulder to silence him, which Ian frowned at. “ _But_ it’s apparently not forbidden, only frowned upon. So we can’t disqualify you on those grounds alone. As defending champions, you _are_ guaranteed a bid to Florida, but know that they will be watching you.” Seemingly as proof of that, Ned eyed Ian up and down before taking a step towards him. “Now, if you need a good word on the panel, I’d be happy to provide that for you…” His hand ran from Ian’s shoulder down to his side and he tensed in discomfort.   
  
Sticking his chin out, Ian growled, “I think we’ll do quite well on our own. And if you don’t remove that hand, I’ll be able to make sure you don’t have a job on that fucking panel at all.”   
  
Shoving him away, Ian strode off, glancing back to see Ned smirking, completely unruffled. Ian gritted his teeth and turned to see Big Red and Aaron storming towards him.   
  
“What are you doing, you’re wrecking everything I’ve built!” Big Red shrieked.   
  
“Hey, hey!” Aaron protested. “It’s not totally his fault; I was the one who hooked him up with—”   
  
“Shut the fuck up, Aaron,” Big Red snapped before turning back to Ian. “This should have been easy for you, you pathetic man-child. I mean, for fuck’s sake, I gave you a fool-proof routine!”   
  
“Don’t you mean a _stolen_ routine?” Ian sneered.   
  
Big Red huffed. “Don’t be so naive, Ian. The truth is is that I was a _real leader_. I did what I had to do to win Nationals, and you just can’t cut it! I should have never handed over the reigns to you.”   
  
Ian shook his head, storming off with tears threatening his eyes. Aaron caught up to him, grabbing his shoulder in the way Ned just had, making Ian cringe away from him.   
  
“Let go of me! I just want to get out of here.”   
  
“Hey, Big Red’s a bitch!” Aaron attempted to soothe. “We all know that, even _she_ knows that.”   
  
Ian shook his head. “I don’t know what to do, here, Aaron.”   
  
“Look, I know I haven’t always been there for you since I went to college…It’s been a tough transition, for both of us. But I still care about you as much as I did, you know that, right?”   
  
Ian melted a little, glad to hear that as he’d been worrying about their relationship lately. “You do?”   
  
He nodded, smiling and cupping Ian’s face. “Yeah, I do, which is why I hate to see you all stressed out like this! And you _know_ that this isn’t good for you…You can’t afford to have a lapse or anything now.”   
  
Ian nodded, because he knew this, but he was also frustrated that that was what everything always came down to.   
  
“Maybe you should hand the captaincy over to Karen and Amanda…”   
  
“You want me to give up being captain?” Ian asked in shock.   
  
“I just want to see you happy, Ian.” Aaron enveloped him in a hug, which Ian reluctantly returned.   
  
*   
  
Aaron pulled up in front of Ian’s house, allowing a goodbye kiss, which Ian surprisingly felt a little uncomfortable through. He waved as Aaron pulled away before turning to his porch to see Mickey sitting there.   
  
Mickey was looking down at his hands, rubbing a finger against his lip before he grumbled, “Friend of yours?”   
  
Ian sighed before admitting, “He’s my boyfriend.”   
  
Mickey looked up at him, his blue eyes filled with confusion and what Ian saw as hurt.   
  
Ian scrambled to explain himself, “Look, Mick—”   
  
“Nah, Gallagher. It’s fine, a’ight?” He sniffed and rubbed his nose before standing up and tossing him a small box. “Here.”   
  
Before Ian could ask what it was, Mickey stormed off down the street, heading towards the L. Ian watched after him hopelessly, calling out, “Mick!” When Mickey didn’t turn around, he stumbled inside, ignoring his siblings as they called after him.   
  
He lay down in his bed and fought over whether to open the small box. It took a few seconds for him to decide to open it. He could never throw away anything Mickey gave him. His chest ached as he opened the box to see a set of dog tags and a tape.   
  
The dog tags only had one word on each of them: one being ‘Captain’ and the other being ‘Gallagher’. Popping the mixtape into the only tape player that they had in the entire house, he leant back in bed and listened.   
  
He laughed a little through his tears of frustration when Mickey’s awkward voice started through the speakers: “Hey, Firecrotch, thought you could have something that includes baby army and cheerleading, so that’s the fuckin’ dog tags. Don’t fuckin’ give up, shithead. Anyway, here’s something I like doing, figured I might as well show you…”   
  
Suddenly, Mickey’s song started, his voice was surprisingly good. Ian had no idea that he could sing like this. It caused Ian to get over his tears and break out into dance; it was so fucking good. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok it was a lil sad, but not that bad! and this was the one with Ned...actually this chapter isn't good at all! i tried to help y'all im sorry


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as Ian entered the gym, he was ambushed from either side by Karen and Amanda, who wrapped their arms around his.   
  
“Aaron called us last night,” Karen informed Ian, “He told us you’re turning the squad over to us…”   
  
“We want you to know that just because you royally fucked up as captain, does not mean we’re going to be hard on you,” Amanda added, smiling sweetly.   
  
Ian smiled mockingly. “Gee, thanks.”   
  
As Karen and Amanda made their way over to the squad, he shot them a death glare. If they thought they had any right to his captaincy, they had another thing coming.   
  
“Everyone, Ian’s not to be shitted on,” Amanda announced.   
  
“We’ve already decided on a course of action…We’re going to forego Nationals this year,” Karen said, “Everyone’s already agreed to it.”   
  
“Uh, except me!” Mandy snapped.   
  
“And me,” Roger argued.   
  
Karen scoffed. “Both of you can be replaced.”   
  
Mandy flipped her off in response, which Karen returned.   
  
“I can’t believe you guys!” Ian growled. “The only person who can officially resign the post of captain _is_ the captain, and I’m not going anywhere.”   
  
“Then we’ll have to overthrow you,” Amanda sneered.   
  
“Which we will!” Karen agreed.   
  
“Fucking enough!” Ian exclaimed. “This whole time, our cheerleading reputation has been that we’re the best of the best — the most inventive. Now we have a chance to truly be original, and you’re all being cowards.”   
  
“He’s fucking crazy,” Karen sneered and everyone in the room tensed as Ian turned to her.   
  
“Karen, just so you know, I’m not above letting Mandy here curb-stomp you, you fucking skank. I’m _not fucking crazy_ , and I’m not resigning. You’d have to kill me first.”   
  
“That can be arranged,” Amanda mocked.   
  
“Fuck off, Amanda, let him talk!” Jasmine screeched, causing Amanda to step back.   
  
“Look, I know I’ve fucked up as captain,” Ian continued, “But I believe in this squad, and I know we can bounce back from this. It’s not going to be easy, we’re going to need a new routine and we’re three weeks away from nationals, but we can do it. Now who’s fucking with me?”   
  
The entire squad, besides Karen and Amanda, whooped out in agreement and celebration.   
  
Ian turned to Karen and Amanda, deciding to take the high road. “How about it? It’ll be hard without you guys.”   
 Karen huffed. “Fine.”   
  
“Sure, whatever,” Amanda agreed.   
  
“Alright, let’s do this.”   
  
*   
  
Throughout the next three weeks, they practised hard, 24/7. They all hoped it would pay off, but Ian knew it would. All they had to do was be original for once, it couldn’t be that hard…  
  
*   
  
After a quick phone call from Lip, where he told Ian about how he had seen Aaron leaving a college party with another guy, Ian realised how much he didn’t care. Sure, he was pissed off, but he had no hurt there. He couldn’t give less of a shit that Aaron had been with someone else. All that told him was that he had a little visit to make. He knocked on Aaron’s door, rolling his eyes as he heard the fucking going on inside.   
  
A few seconds later, Aaron answered the door, eyes widening in surprise and he closed the door a little more to hide whatever little twink he had in there. “Ian! Wow, what are you doing here?”   
  
Ian smiled tightly. “Aww, babe. I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing! Bad time?”   
  
Aaron nodded quickly. “Yeah, yes. Super busy working on some project.”   
  
“Yeah, I’ve heard you’ve been getting super busy, but I hope you’re not too busy to hear this: We’re done, Aaron. You can fuckin’ kiss my ass.” He shoved the door open to see some dude pulling up his jeans. He gave him a sympathetic look before patting Aaron on the shoulder. “I feel sorry for this guy, you always were a lousy fucking lay.”   
  
He stormed off, leaving behind one guy he definitely didn’t need in his life.   
  
*   
  
Mandy nervously made her way through the gym over to Ian, who was busy working his arms. She eyed him a bit before shaking her head and saying, “UCA just posted the Nationals list. The Clovers aren’t on it. They couldn’t raise the money in time; they’re not going!”   
  
Ian stopped, sitting up with a frown. “What do you mean, they’re not going?!”   
  
“Ian, that’s good news,” Derek reminded him.   
  
“It’s not good news!” Ian protested. “To be the best again, we have to beat the best. That’s what the Clovers are, and if they’re not there…just — they have to go.”   
  
Everyone nodded in agreement.   
  
*   
  
Back in the Southside, some of the cheerleaders of the Clover squad were gathered around a notebook, trying to decide what to write to get a television host to sponsor them for Nationals. They all looked up from the notebook as soon as Ian entered the gym. Isis, the captain of the Clovers, stood up and made her way over to meet him halfway, an unimpressed look on her face.   
  
“You guys _have_ to go to Nationals,” Ian said.   
  
“Come up here just to tell me that?” Isis retorted.   
  
“Here, I got my piece of shit Dad’s company to sponsor you guys,” Ian said, handing her a cheque in the hopes that they would accept it. Unfortunately, he failed to see how that would come across.   
  
“What is this, hush money?” Isis frowned. When Ian disagreed, Isis continued, “Oh, _right_ , it’s guilt money. You pay our way in and you sleep better knowing that your whole world was based on one big, fat lie? Well you know what?” Isis began tearing up the cheque, much to Ian’s annoyance.   
  
“Why do you have to be like this?” Ian groaned. “I’m trying to do the right thing here.”   
  
“I’m trying to be strong for my squad, okay?” Isis told him, “That’s what a captain _does_.”   
  
“Well, I’m a captain too, you know. I’m trying to make it right.”   
  
Isis pursed her lips, nodding as she thought over what Ian was trying to say. “You want to make it right? Then, when you go to Nationals? Bring it. Don’t slack off because you feel sorry for us. That way, when we beat you, we’ll know it’s because we’re better.”   
  
Ian nodded, a smirk on his face. “Yeah, I’ll bring it.”   
  
*   
  
Ian spotted Mickey from across the quad. He’d never looked so good. Ian didn’t know it was because Mickey always looked really good or whether it was that whole ‘distance makes the heart grow fonder’ crap, but seeing him with his earphones in as he walked across the quad made his heart thump harder in his chest. He ran up to him and gently pulled his earphones out.   
  
Mickey turned around sharply, ready to kick whoever’s ass it was that dared to do that. “The fuck—”   
  
“I listened to your tape,” Ian told him quickly, smiling nervously. “I loved it.”   
  
When Mickey scoffed and went to turn around again, Ian quickly grabbed his wrist and asked, “Can I talk to you?” As soon as Mickey reluctantly stopped moving and settled into his space, Ian began, “Look, I was upset and Aaron gave me a ride home. It was just a goodnight kiss. It meant nothing!”   
  
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mickey said mockingly before turning to walk away again.   
  
Ian quickly began talking in the hopes that it would stop Mickey. “And I want you to know, I broke up with him. He was a jerk.”   
  
“No business of mine, Gallagher,” Mickey said dryly before turning away and shoving his earphones back in again.   
  
*   
  
Mandy decided that while she had the Milkovich house alone, she may as well practise her routine. She could feel her body getting used to the moves and memorising them — which had to come after another, which way she had to move so she could bend the other way, which part of the beat she had to match. It had been hard to get into the dancing side of cheerleading since she had only known the gymnastics side of it all, but now she could feel her body getting looser when she moved, less rigid like it always seemed to be. When she did this, she didn’t feel like she needed to be up-in-arms like she always was — ready for a fight.   
  
She almost jumped when Mickey slammed the front door on his way into the house, but ignored the douchebag like the professional she was. But when he mocked her movements, she had to snap, “Bite me, dickbreath.”   
  
“Hanging out with those uptight assholes has really made your insults that much better, ass face.”   
  
“Fuck you.”   
  
“Said the cheerleader.”   
  
“ _That’s_ right, I am a cheerleader, and you’re a dumbass,” Mandy retorted, so sick of his shit, especially when it came to Ian. “Ian likes you. It’s so fuckin’ obvious, Mick; he broke up with his boyfriend _for you_. I know you’re emotionally fucked like the rest of us, but c’mon, don’t be stupid.”   
  
Mickey rolled his eyes. “Right.”   
  
“Look, do us all a big fuckin’ favour and get over yourself, and tell your boyfriend how you feel.”   
  
“I thought I had. I mean, fuck, Mandy, I gave the kid a fuckin’ gift.” Mickey looked embarrassed about admitting that, but even he seemed at a loss at how to fix it.   
  
“Try using your _words_ , asshole; you have no idea how much that might help.” Mandy smirked. “And, let me give you a little tip from a _cheerleader_ : Be aggressive, B-E _aggressive_!” She slammed her hands hard against his chest before walking away to practise her routine in her room, leaving Mickey standing there with a million questions.   
  
*   
  
The news comes to Ian that the Clovers made it to the Nationals with the TV host sponsoring them, which makes both them and him immensely happy. So as he and Mandy walked towards the rooms, arm in arm, he has a big smile on his face even while he asked about Mickey, which had recently made him feel down.   
  
“So, is your family coming?” Ian asked.   
  
Mandy smiled a little. “I don’t know if Mick’s coming.”   
  
Ian rolled his eyes before sighing and going back into down mode. “I totally fucked up with Mickey.”   
  
“Forget it, my brother’s a jackass.”   
  
“You’re his sister; you don’t see him like I do,” Ian argued.   
  
Mandy smirked. “He’s Mickey; I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who sees him like you do, the grumpy asshole.”   
  
Ian couldn’t help himself and as soon as they got to the rooms, he called Mickey…or well, tried. No one picked up, so he decided one call was desperate enough for a guy that hated him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY for Ian fixing everything!! (Or...almost everything)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter!!!

It was the day of competing to be the advancing teams at Nationals. Ian’s squad was stretching nervously when he spotted Isis. Taking a deep breath, he made his way over to her and her squad.   
  
“Hey,” he greeted, tapping her on the shoulder. “Watch going out of balance; they deduct crazy for that stuff.”   
  
Isis scoffed. “You going for sainthood or something?”   
  
Ian shrugged. “You don’t want to blow it on something tiny.”   
  
“Me and my squad made it to the big show without any of your help,” Isis reminded him. “I think we can handle it.” She paused for a moment, watching Ian nod before turning to her squad. “ _Stay_ in balance. If any of you step out of that ugly blue carpet, you are dead.”  She turned back to Ian cocking her head at his small smile. “Happy?”   
  
Ian nodded, smiling wider now. “Yes.”   
  
Isis nodded to something behind Ian. “Tell your girl over there she’s about a half second early on all your moves.”   
  
“I will.” Ian smirked. “Happy?”   
  
Isis nodded. “Yep.” Ian was about to turn away when she caught his arm. “Hey, remember: bring it.”   
  
Ian gave her a look before turning back to his squad and helping the cheerleader that Isis pointed out.   
  
Most of the teams were very impressive, making Ian a bit nervous, but he’d figured they’d done this a thousand times before. They came through to the advanced teams, along with the Clovers.   
  
*   
  
Ian and Mandy were sitting on the bed in the girls’ room. They weren’t allowed to sleep in there together, but Ian could visit them before heading to the boys’ room the next one over.   
  
“I don’t know what’s scarier,” Mandy said, chomping on some chips. “The fuckin’ neurotic cheerleaders or the pressure to win. I could make a killing selling something like _diet prozac_. Maybe then Dad would quit bitching about my contribution to the family funds.”   
  
Ian laughed. “Thank fucking God you’re here this season, Mands. I couldn’t have done this shit alone.”   
  
“I’m so fucking touched.” Mandy mockingly pretended to cry and Ian laughed.   
  
“No, I mean it. You’re great, Mandy, you know that?”   
  
Mandy smiled shyly before getting distracted by the cheerleaders cheering outside their window. Huffing, she dumped her back of chips on the bed and got up, yelled out the window, “Shut up! If you don’t have it yet, you don’t fuckin’ have it! Give it up, already!”   
  
Ian cracked up from the bed.   
  
*   
  
While Karen had a hissy fit because she couldn’t find her spanx pants, Carl was wandering around the squad zone with it on his head, bullshitting something about donations. He approached Ian, Mandy, and Derek.   
  
“Hey, babe,” Carl greeted Mandy. “You in a giving mood?” He winked at her.   
  
“Sure!” Mandy responded faux-cheerfully before ripping the pants off his head and smacking him.   
  
“Fuck off, Carl, or you’ll lose even more street cred when I tell everyone back home that you were at a cheerleading competition.” Ian grinned at his little brother.   
  
“You wouldn’t!” Carl argued. “You’d lose more for _being_ a cheerleader.”   
  
“Like I give a fuck, and it’s not like everyone doesn’t know already.”   
  
Carl scowled before flipping Ian off and leaving.   
  
Derek grinned, holding the spanx pants. “Hey, I recognise these.”   
  
Ian rolled his eyes and took them back.   
  
  
Meanwhile, Roger was waiting eagerly for the last squad to perform to come out so he could see the boy he’d been so anxious to see.   
  
“Hey, Brian!” he called out as the boy came in the tent. “That last lift you did was…amazing.” He smiled warmly and Brian grinned back.   
  
“Thanks. Good luck out there,” Brian responded, ducking his head a little before striding off.   
  
Roger breathed out deeply. “Good job, man, you were cool.”   
  
  
The Clovers got called out and Ian’s squad watched from the tents as they did an amazing job. They pulled off every jump and flip and lift flawlessly, never missing a step. Ian’s nerves nearly tripled at that. He bit his lip as Mandy pointed out Mickey in the audience. They both waved at him and he smiled back. That smile immediately put Ian in a better state of mind.   
  
He turned to his squad and began his usual pep talk, “Okay, guys, let’s go out there and do our best. Nothing hits the floor; we fucking stick it!” He nodded to everyone before the squad made their way out.   
  
Ian could see the Gallaghers also in the crowd in grinned to them before they began their routine. He was so nervous throughout the whole thing and he could feel his squad was too, but when he reached the point where Mickey’s song played, he felt a whole lot more confident that they were fucking pulling this shit _off_. Even the judges looked impressed. Finally, they finished their routine. Everyone had done perfectly and Ian grinned, cheering as the crowd cheered with them, even Carl.   
  
They left the stage and congratulated each other, hugging and cheering.   
  
  
Soon enough, it was time to see who had won. The awards ceremony was always nerve-wracking, but Ian felt it even more so this time. Like because he was captain, it was all on him whether they won or lost. Ian knew, though, that he himself would be happy they made it this far. He just didn’t want to let down his team.   
  
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” the announcer began, “the awards ceremony for UCA 2015. Five finalist squads, and only one will walk away with the grand prize trophy and the cheque for twenty-thousand dollars. And, so, in third place is…” he then announced another squad that was neither Ian’s nor the Clovers. They all sighed, part in relief, part in dread, as they clapped for the third-place team.   
  
The announcer handed over the microphone to his co-host and she announced, “And in second place, as this was a tough decision as there were two outstanding performances this year, in second place…From Chicago, Illinois, the Toros!”   
  
They all turned to each other for a moment, a sort of disappointment flittering between them all before it was broken by Karen cheering, “Second place? Fuck yeah!”   
  
They all started celebrating, then, realising that it was really a miracle they had won second place with all they had been through to get it. Ian and Mandy shared a hug before bouncing over to get their trophy, carrying it back over to the squad.   
  
“And now the winners of this year’s National high-school cheerleading championships: the Clovers from Chicago, Illinois!”   
  
The Clovers cried out in celebration, also collecting their trophy, and Ian grinned as they cheered and clapped for them.   
  
  
As they were taking photos of the squads, Isis approached Ian. “Ian.”   
  
Ian made his way over to her, grinning as he eyed their cheque. “Whoa. Nice cheque.”   
  
Isis smiled before saying, “Look, I just wanted to say, you know, captain to captain, I respect what you guys did out there. You guys were good.”   
  
“Thanks.” Ian smiled, glad to be feeling a bit less tension between the two of them. He shrugged. “You were better.”   
  
Isis made a thoughtful face before grinning. “We were, huh?”   
  
They both laughed before separating. Ian turned to Mandy, who was grinning and holding a small pole.   
  
She waved it at him and teased, “Look, my very own spirit stick.” Ian shook his head and grinned as she mockingly chucked it around, walking towards him. “So, think _the curse_ is broken?”   
  
“I don’t believe in curses anymore.”   
  
“Oh, really?” Mandy mocked, holding the pole out, threatening to drop it.   
  
Ian eyed it and said, “No.”   
  
Mandy then dropped it, letting it hit the floor between them. He smirked down at it before rolling his eyes and picking it up.   
  
“Well, maybe we should burn that, just in case.”   
  
Mandy cracked up, pulling Ian into a quick hug. “Fuckin’ dork.”   
  
Ian froze when he saw Mickey approach Mandy and give her a titty twist. “Congratulations, douchebag.”   
  
“Fuck you, no more titty twisters now that I’m a C-cup!” she cried, punching him in the bicep as hard as she could.   
  
He snorted, smirking. “Bitch, you wish.”   
  
“Hey, you remember my friend, Ian, right?” Mandy asked mockingly and Mickey squinted at Ian for a moment before clicking his fingers, pointing at him.   
  
“Yeah, I think so…”   
  
Ian smiled and Mickey returned the smile. They all stood there awkwardly for a moment, before Mandy patted Mickey’s arm and left them to it.   
  
“So, second place?” Mickey began the conversation. “How’s it feel, superstar?”   
  
Ian nodded, smiling. “Feels like first.”   
  
They nodded at each other for another moment before Ian smirked, rolling his eyes and grabbing Mickey by the back of the neck, pulling him in for a kiss. Mickey froze for a moment, almost ready to push Ian off because they were in _fucking public_ , before realising that they were at a cheerleading competition, where there’s probably a lot of dudes kissing. Quickly enough, he just fell into it, cupping Ian’s face happily.   
  
Maybe there was a chance for them yet.   
  
*   
At the next football game, the squad did a routine along to "Hey, Mickey", and Mickey had his head buried in his hands in embarrassment as Ian grinned the whole way through. There really was nothing better than annoying and embarrassing his boyfriend. Once they finished and were in the locker room, Ian checked his phone to see a text from Mickey.   
  
_Fuck you Gallagher I’ll get you back for that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I always wanted Ian to tell Mandy how great she was instead of fucking Lip tbh) I hope this was alright! I really had a lot of fun writing this one :) Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> First fic I'm posting! I'm really sorry if everyone seems OOC, just getting a hang of it all! Really shit title, I know, but I couldn't think of anything else and it was called that in my document.


End file.
